The present invention relates to therapeutic shoes and, in particular, it concerns shoes suited for mass production which allow selective and personalized weight shifting or pressure relief to critical regions of the foot.
It is known that various patients require selective relief of pressure on parts of their feet, either as part of the treatment for an existing medical condition or to prevent certain conditions developing. This is particularly true for patients prone to peripheral circulatory problems such as is a common consequence of diabetes. Pressure control is also often required or desirable during recovery post-operatively and due to various other sources of foot trauma.
Relief of pressure could be achieved by modifying a shoe so that weight is transferred to other parts of the foot. However, since the region in which pressure relief is required varies from patient to patient, this approach would require manual modification of shoes on an individual basis. Such an approach would be very labor intensive and costly. The shoe, once modified, would also becomes useless when the pressure relief therapy was no longer required.
A related problem, again particularly in patients prone to peripheral circulatory problems, results from localized pressure which may be applied for extended periods on the heel of the foot while the patient is in bed.
There is therefore a need for a therapeutic shoe suitable for mass production which would allow readily adjustable weight shifting, which would offer protection to the heel from pressure while sleeping, and which would allow the shoe to be used as a conventional shoe at other times.